Embedded Software Engineer (BE-CEM-EDL-2026-136-GRAE)

Are you passionate about cutting-edge technology and eager to work on innovative projects? We are looking for an Embedded Software Developer to join the Electronics Design and Low-Level Software (EDL) section within the Control Electronics and Mechatronics (CEM) group at CERN, and be part of the White Rabbit Collaboration Bureau.

White Rabbit is a CERN-born technology and now an industry-standard that provides sub-nanosecond synchronisation and deterministic data transfer to distributed devices interconnected with a WR network.

You will enhance and maintain the basic blocks of this technology, including the software and firmware running on the White Rabbit Switch and the White Rabbit PTP Core, which are deployed in thousands of instances globally. You will also interact with institutes and companies world-wide to help them with integration and deployments of White Rabbit.

Your responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain software and firmware for the WR Switch and the WR PTP Core.
• Maintain GIT repos with dozens of developers.
• Develop and maintain tools to automate calibration and tests of WR devices, including hardware in Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines.
• Assist in the development of production tests to be conducted post-hardware manufacturing.
• Be part of outreach activities in conferences and events to promote WR Technology and the WR Collaboration.
• Support WR users world-wide.
• Collaborate with your colleagues in the hardware/software co-design process, where HDL, firmware, Linux device drivers and host applications are developed and reviewed together.

More information here.

Your profile:

• Development of embedded Linux software and bare-metal firmware.
• Working with an embedded Linux distributions running on SoC of AMD/Xilinx FPGA.
• Measurements with lab tools such as an oscilloscope.
• Debugging of hardware.

Skills:

Required:

• Low-level programming in C, including bare-metal.
• Embedded Linux and Linux Device drivers.
• Git-based development, code reviews, merge requests and CI pipelines.
• Python.
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.

Advantageous:

• Testing frameworks, PyTest.
• Basics in FPGA development (VHDL, Verilog, SystemVerilog).
• Capability of understanding PCB schematics.
• Networking and synchronisation protocols (e.g. NTP, PTP).

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• By the application deadline, you have a maximum of two years of professional experience since graduation in Software Engineering (or a related field) and your highest educational qualification is either a Bachelor's or Master's degree.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Applicants without University degree are not eligible.
• Applicants with a PhD are not eligible.

Job closing date: 02.06.2026 at 23:59 CEST. 

Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.

Working hours: 40 hours per week

Job flexibility: Fully Onsite

Target start date: 01-September-2026

Job reference: BE-CEM-EDL-2026-136-GRAE

Field of work: Software Engineering and IT

Benchmark job: 200020 - Computing Engineer

Global Benefits

• A monthly stipend between 5266-5793 Swiss Francs per month (tax free) depending on your degree.
• 30 days of paid leave per year plus 2 weeks annual closure.
• Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive health insurance scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Family, child and infant monthly allowances depending on your individual circumstances.
• A relocation package (installation grant and travel expenses) depending on your individual circumstances.
• Possibility to extend your contract up to 36 months.
• On-the-job and formal training including language classes.

Overview of CERN - Discover a world where the impossible is made possible!

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, we are pushing the frontiers of science and technology. Our groundbreaking work brings together not only physicists but also a diverse range of professionals from engineering, technical, scientific, and administrative fields. Together, we foster an environment where innovation and collaboration thrive.

Every day, we face exciting new challenges and opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge research that shapes our understanding of the universe. We meet these challenges through the diverse perspectives within our teams, ensuring every contribution is valued and driving our shared sense of inclusion and purpose. Diversity is a core value of CERN since its foundation, and it remains central to our mission and continued success.

If you are ready to be part of a dynamic, inclusive community pushing the boundaries of knowledge, CERN is the place where your curiosity and skills can thrive. Be part of our mission to uncover what lies at the heart of the universe! TAKE PART!

More information about us, here: careers.cern